If you’ve been keeping current with this blog, the you’re already familiar with the venomous concern I’ve given commercial air-flight recently—it’s nothing pretty. The relationship turned acrid when they swapped my meals for snacks. The rows became tighter, as to shovel more passengers into the cabin. And checking luggage—I can expect to pay for those as well. Instead of making air travel work for me, I’ve learned to work around air travel, and all of its shortcomings.
More connections = More savings. Connections prevent you from getting to your destination, faster. Connections also prevent you from paying more for the same trip. On a recent flight, I saved 200 U.S. dollars to et to a destination 450 miles away, just by agreeing to two connections. Both overshot where I was going by hundreds upon hundreds of miles, but I was able to use those savings toward other areas of the trip.
Book early. This one is like saying, “If you brush your teeth twice a day, you won’t get cavities.” You may still encounter a cavity or two in your lifetime, but you certainly made your own odds against a future of orthodontic surgery and dentures. The same applies to booking early; chances are good you’ll get the lowest fairs, but it isn’t until airlines under-book a flight that you’ll find the greatest savings.
Avoid checking baggage. It gets lost; it costs extra; what good is it? Sure, you get to tote along more unnecessary clutter, but why? Do you really need that sitar? Could you survive the two-day trip without an entire wardrobe? If you can manage, nix the third bag and carry on what you can get away with.
Don’t plan your air flight around a hotel stay and don’t plan your hotel stay around your flight reservations. Instead, make them work together. This step may require a bit of additional research, but if you can pull it off, you will undoubtedly save money and some heartache.
First, find your preferred Cancun resort. Second, determine whether they are offering any specials or discounted rates. Finally, attempt to synchronize your stay at that hotel with any of the slower days for air travel—Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Or, if you happen to be a Monarch butterfly in Ohio, a class of six year olds will take you all the way to Mexico for free. Nice.
- Raul Petraglia
